Marshall Wace LLP Purchases Shares of 7,122 Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,122 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLM. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 29,371 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 8,679 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 487.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 271,293 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $22,770,000 after purchasing an additional 225,140 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,101 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,904,000. 47.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Sportswear Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of COLM traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $65.89. 107,031 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,072. Columbia Sportswear has a 12 month low of $58.44 and a 12 month high of $92.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.24.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $778.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.50 million. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Columbia Sportswear's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Columbia Sportswear's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Sportswear

In other Columbia Sportswear news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $522,727.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. This represents a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 44.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COLM shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $91.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.00.

Columbia Sportswear Profile

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.